Interview Of The Week - THE KARGIL SOLDIER

‘My son was born two months before
I was wounded...I haven’t held him yet’

One year later, what remains? Memories of battle merge with long, lonely and sometimes excruciatingly painful spells spent on a hospital bed. Lying at Command Hospital, Southern Command, Pune, one of the many heroes of the Kargil war tries to take life as it comes. Lance Naik Tilak Raj Chowdhary of 12 JAKLI (Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry) has undergone 14 operations to dislodge two of the three bullets in his waist, stomach and thigh. Posted in the Batalik sector during the thick of the action to recapture the Indian post Point 5238, he was shot at on June 9 last year. Tilak Raj talks to TRIVENI on life’s highs and lows and of the abiding memory of his brother nursing him ‘‘like a baby’’.

What happened on June 9, 1999?
Right after a Siachen posting, we were posted to the Batalik sector. The enemy had captured the Indian post Point 5238. Our advance party was flown from Delhi to Batalik. At 1 p.m., on June 8, we reached the conflict area. We received orders to attack and recapture Point 5238. Led by Major Sanjeev Dutt, we began the assault at 4 a.m. The post was high up and the climb steep. The fierce fighting that lasted for several hours left 16 enemy soldiers dead. We suffered eight casualties, among whom was Captain N C Nongrom, Captain Amol Kalia and Subedar Bahadur Singh. I was wounded.

How did the enemy bullets get you?
At 3.30 p.m the same day, we ran out of ammunition. Along with four others, I was sent to fetch ammunition. I retreated a 100 yards and an enemy soldier spotted me. One bullet hit my right boot. The next, aimed at my head, hit my helmet which flew off. I turned around to warn my comrades about the attack. After some consultation, I edged forwarded. Just then, three bullets tore at my flesh in the waist, stomach and right thigh. I rolled 300 yards down a steep incline. My comrades killed the enemy. I was taken to Turtuk and then flown by helicopter to Kargil where I was operated upon to remove the bullets. Later, I was sent to Srinagar where more operations were done. Months later, I heard that we had captured the point the same day.

How traumatic were the post-operation months?
After I was hit, I was conscious till I was flown to Kargil. The pain simply tore at me. I was operated upon many times but I was not aware of what had happened during the first six operations. I regained consciousness when I was in the hospital in Srinagar. Much of the initial days in Srinagar were hazy. I could hear the voices of my family — my parents, my wife, two children and my younger brother — who were by my side. I opened my eyes on July 2 and heard the aircraft flying overhead. I knew the action was on. My first thought was to get well soon to return to the conflict zone. When I close my eyes, the entire action flashes before me. I have relived the scene many times over in my mind. At times, I wake up at night in a cold sweat.

How did your family react?
Like a soldier’s family. Though my grandparents, who were in my village in Jammu (Raspura, Gharali) had shed tears, the rest were brave. In the initial months, my family swung from hope to despair. But my parents, my wife and my children found succour and strength. My younger brother, who also participated in the conflict, took care of me like a baby. He fed me, clothed me and made me comfortable. The Commanding Officer of his regiment, 13 JAKLI, on hearing about me immediately gave him permission to attend to me. My brother telephones me almost everyday. In times of despair, I relive my conversations with my brother... My son was born two months before I was wounded. I have not held him in my arms till date.

What hopes does the future hold?
I have to undergo many more operations — at least four more. My doctors say I will take at least a year to leave the bed. My right leg is shorter than the left, the stomach is bandaged and I have to pull myself up with my hands to sit up. My right leg is in a shambles, broken from the thigh. I may need skin grafting. I am making attempts to walk with my crutches. A sepoy assigned to me has been helping me around for eight months. But if there is water on the floor, I do not attempt to walk. My stomach clenches at the very thought. I am waiting for the day when I can walk unaided. Only when I have some independence can I really contemplate the future. After having stood in the line of fire and braved the bullets, I’d go back anyday to defend the country.

How have people been treating you?
Dignitaries like Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee visited us with gifts in Srinagar. Relatives, friends and people from my village in Jammu came all the way to see me. They would wait outside the hospital for hours on end. My family told me they would speak to others about me with pride. ‘‘Hamare gaon ka ladka bhi Kargil mein ladke aya hai,’’ they would say. In the hospital, complete strangers would walk up to me. Their eyes would communicate a silent message of pride. Of course, my regiment stood by me and helped me all these months.

Next - Straight Face